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Sexual harassment in Scotland?

+3 votes
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in Fun & Humor ☻ by

True story: some bartenders in Scotland are refusing to wear kilts because too many (tipsy?) women look under their kilts to see if they are true Scotsmen. 

image

https://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/255518/scottish-bartenders-stop-wearing-kilts-because-women-wont-stop-groping-them/

3 Answers

+2 votes
by

Well, Tink, what...ever...but I think ima just take their word for it, Scotsman or whatever they say they are...  8-)  :blush:  <3

+2 votes
by

Well, well, maybe that the politicians, justice and societies will finally take the matter of sexual harassment more seriously, now that also men considered to be "real men" (not only "sissies") are joining the worldwide protests.

Maybe that epicaricacy and ridicule will in this regard, and in spite of all their painful consequences, also allow to find a more suitable, fairer approach to define and inform about human dignity.

That reminds me that some other groups of "skirt wearers" might also speak up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evzones

:O:ermm::angel::):blush: ... ?


by

Marianne!!! Epicaricacy??? That is the second word I have learned from you in as many days, your vocabulary is remarkable. Is there a difference between epicaricacy and schadenfreude, do you know?

Here is some information I found online, about epicaricacy: 'The word is mentioned in some early dictionaries, but there is little or no evidence of actual usage until it was picked up by various "interesting word" websites around the turn of the twenty-first century.'

by

Lol, Virginia, you are handling things with accuracy; it is indeed not much used and was picked up recently, from Ancient Greek; yes, it is a synonym for "Schadenfreude", which is a nearly untranslatable German creation.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epicaricacy


T(h)ink reminded me of another, smiling German jewel: the verb "verschlimmbessern":

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epicaricacy

by

'N'Kay Marianne, of course I had to check out verschlimmbessern, now...and Google translate gives its meaning as "make worse"...!

by

Lol, correct, Virginia, and it is one of these funny, untranslatable words; here are some more:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/german-words?utm_term=.ncKnVnM0e#.iyqVbV9gv

by

Firefox translate gives the same.

by

Verschlimmbessern...verschlimmbessern...I am practicing saying this word, I want to see if I can work it into the conversation soon!

(As perhaps, "Aw, now, I think you are verschlimmbesserning the whole thing!")

by

Oops, I entered the wrong link.

This is the correct one:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verschlimmbessern

by

Lol, Virginia; I pasted the wrong link and did not realise it.

Actually, it is a composition of two verbs: verschlimmern, i.e. to worsen, to aggravate -  and (ver)bessern, i.e. to improve, to make it better ... The nouns are "Verschlimmerung" and "Verbesserung".

(Gerund: verschlimmbessernd)

:):D



by

Marianne, that word is seeming wonderfuller and wonderfuller! (purposefully misusing my English here, proper would be 'more and more wonderful.') :D  Your link gives the meaning as "to make something worse in an honest but failed attempt to improve it." I don't know of a true English synonym, either, and surely EVERY language needs a word to express that oh so human phenomenon! 

Oh that is a marvelous word...I keep a running list of new words I am learning, and that is the first non-English word to be included, I love it! But maybe I will render the gerund as verschlimmbessernding...that should wake 'em up...

by

Lol, Virginia, and you got the "thing" or "das Ding".

:D:D:D:D

by

Marianne!!!

I have just gone through that full list you posted of untranslatable German words...oh it is fascinating, just delightful!

The one English might have a good overlap with the German expression is "spring fever," the frühjahrsmüdigkeit, a sense of listlessness brought on by the coming of spring. Wikipedia calls spring fever an auto-antonym, 'a term with multiple an opposed meanings.' So, spring fever can either indicate an increase in vitality (including romantic inclinations), or its opposite...from Wikip... 'On the other hand, the term may sometimes be used to describe an opposite effect of springtime lethargy or depression.'

Okay, here is a question for you, as a remarkable multilingual...maybe Tink too if she sees this...what is going on in Germany that they have such wonderfully expressive words? Yes I love English, its nuances, Shakespeare and all. But German truly does have such precise, profound expressions for human experience that you don't have any way to say in English with less than a paragraph!

Germany producing such fine science, music, medicine, literature...on and on...you know several languages intimately, what do you think? Is German more expressive than the others? Is the German culture generally deeper than English/Anglo cultures?

Oh and btw, I DO already use donnerwetter (thunder weather?); I sometimes say it when I want to curse without using profanity.

by

Lol, Virginia, they are using word compositions:

http://theweek.com/articles/463500/8-favorite-ridiculously-long-german-words


by

@ Virginia: the spirit of verschlimmbessern is captured in the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

by

Aha, another dimension nuance of my new most favourite word internationale! Yay for verschlimmbessern!

Tink, your opinion? Is German as expressive/more expressive, more depth, than English? Is it meaningful even to try to compare the two languages in that sense?

by

Dear Virginia and dear T(h)ink, each language has its particularities, its history, its aches, its humour, its poetry, its depth and its accents, yes, also languages have a soul!

And you can take German or English, I can't say which is richer, deeper or more beautiful.

Some words:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/philippjahner/people-grape?utm_term=.cveLnLrBb#.kt89A9RY2

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/german-words?utm_term=.tudvMvXoA#.ckA1B13zA

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/15-beautiful-german-words-and-phrases-we-need-in-english/

(for a smile)

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-9-best-german-words-you-dont-know

https://www.tandem.net/11-beautiful-german-words/


I found a link with special, weird and beautiful German words (it in German):

https://deutschwortschatz.de/2014/11/28/die-schoensten-deutschen-woerter-von-a-bis-z/


And you might like the word "Mummenschanz" (mummers' plays):

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummenschanz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummers_play






by

This is a lovely post, Marianne...I had not considered that a language might have a soul, that is a bit along the lines of the article Tink found about consciousness in rocks and everywhere!

Oh and the mummers are wonderful...

by

Lol, Virginia - thank you.

And the beauty of a language depends also on those who speak and use it, and who express their emotions.

Yes, the Mummenschanz are an exceptional Theatre group:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummenschanz

:)<3

+2 votes
by

I would probably be flattered if I were a Scot! LOL :D :D :D

by

Lol, Rooster - our fairy will be shocked ...

:O:O:angel::D:D

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Marianne's right, Rooster, I'm shocked...SHOCKED!   But you might be shocked too (and not in a pleasant way) at some of the women lifting your kilts.  :O

by

Lol, T(h)ink, I saw it coming - oh, that reminds me that Virginia would appreciate the German exclamation "Donnerwetter" - and you might like to inspire yourself from the "fustanella" (also for Virginia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fustanella

or the myth-enshrouded "chiton"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton_(costume)

...

and two German specialties - also for Virginia:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sagenumwoben

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Donnerwetter


Captain Haddock's Thunder came from Brest (tonnerre de Brest) and was often thousand fold, besides "shiver my timbers" and "blast".

:):angel::D

by

Lol, Rooster and T(h)ink, sometimes, the word "flattering" might leave a "flattening" impression.

image


by

Marianne, sagenumwoben? Translating as myth-enshrouded? What a wonderful word, I don't think English has a comparable word to convey all that one does? 

Really now, isn't German capable of deeper expression than English? (I hesitate as I write that...English IS truly wonderful...but for conveying mystical concepts?)

I remember, age 20, totally fascinated by the concept of weltanschauung...pondered it for weeks, all that it expressed...and that was 50-some years ago now!

by

Lol, Virginia, German language and its literature are as rich as English.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_dialects

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language

:):)

by

Well, Virginia, one way German constructs all these wonderful words is to stick a lot of smaller words together, and then call the combination one word.  English could do that too (and to a lesser extent does; e.g., doorknob).   For example, one might coin a word "mythenshrouded", in principle, as a translation for sagenumwoben.

by

Hmmm...neither you nor Marianne seem all that impressed with the German language, its depth, both of you commenting on just stringing smaller words together...

Maybe what I am exploring is the fact that German DID come up with sagenumwoben, while English did NOT develop anything attempting to convey a mystical sense such as 'mythenshrouded'...? As I ponder this, however, there have been authors writing in English who could convey beautifully a numinous, mystical sense...as perhaps Lord Dunsany, the Irish author, for example?

by

Lol, Virginia, "not that impressed"? I don't know - after all, here, we are dealing with four national languages, and it is not always so easy without a good part of humour.

By the way, I sent some links, which you might like and another, less known word.



by

Ha ha Marianne, my "not...impressed" comment sounded a bit different from its intention! :blush:  :angel:  <3  Anyway, for the time being I am guessing the two languages (English and German) are pretty much parallel in their capacity for expression, after all they are quite closely related!

* * *

One of your links was the website Babbel; do you have experience with that site? Is it a good, reputable site? I did go through their first lesson in German, and enjoyed it! Now they are asking that I sign up with them, so I was wondering if you are signed up with Babbel?

by

@ Virginia, oh yes, I think English can be as expressive a language as German, it's just that the mechanics of writing are somewhat different.  Also, I think continental Germans (and other Europeans, more or less) are closer to their mythological roots than Americans are.  The Irish, of course, are masters of the mythical sense. :)

by

Lol, Virginia, I know that you were kidding.

But if talking seriously, I look into various dictionaries, and compare, and Babbel is one of them.

As to German lessons, I did not look into them. I know, there are various sites for learning languages on-line, and quite a few are good. But for German, I think that the very reference is the Goethe Institute, probably the best known cultural association promoting German language and culture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe-Institut

:)

by

O'Tink, Marianne too...regarding the mythological roots...one thing I have learned from our discussions (and the follow-up reading I did) is just how much Hitler's Nazism used that mythology to build their credibility.

I have studied mythology (or at least dabbled) and its connection with a deeper experience of life, of the soul if you will, and yes! Some of those words in German just seem to resonate...very striking in their depth and beauty. I have also loved English for its expressiveness, so I'm not really surprised the difference is largely in the mechanics...

* * *

And thank you for the reference to the Goethe Institute, Marianne.

by

Yes, Virginia, there are much more elaborate connections to myth in Germany than in the USA.  For example, the annual spring festival in Eisenach (where Bach was born) that dates back at least 1000 years, in which the victory of Lady Sun over Lord Winter is celebrated with horse-drawn floats, decorations, etc.

http://flamingolonglegs.blogspot.com/2014/04/gut-ei-gut-ei-und-kikeriki.html

by

Enjoyed watching that, O'Tink...and I would actually make a guess such celebrations as that one have been going for much more than a thousand years...Old Europe with fascinating traditions pre-dating Christianity by many millennia, which this parade almost certainly reflects!

by

You're very welcome, Virginia. :)<3

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